True Name
by Faceless Charmer
Summary: Nobody had called Syaoran by his real since he was a child. And he's okay with that. But then, one day, Fai starts calling him by nicknames, that grow closer and closer to his real name everyday. What is Fai's purpose? And is Syaoran ready to be someone he hasn't been for a long time? Is he ready to be Tsubasa?
1. Tsubasa

**True Name**

At first, after their journey continued, they called him Syaoran, the same as always. And this didn't bother him at all, because obviously, he'd been going by this name for quite some time, and was completely used to it. He hadn't expected them to start calling him Tsubasa, even if he had revealed it as his true name. He was fine with being called by his father's name.

Kurogane still called him, "Kid," or "Boy," and Mokona and Fai still called him Syaoran.

Then one day, he saw the blond, and white creature whispering together. He wouldn't have thought anything of it, if they hadn't looked in his direction. He cocked his head in a silent question, but instead of explain themselves, they turned back to each other and kept whispering.

He decided to ignore it.

Then there came a day when they were in the kitchen, of the house they were currently renting out. Fai was washing the dishes, as they'd all just finished eating. Kurogane was leaning against the counter, and Mokona was on Fai's shoulder, providing the mage entertainment while he worked.

"Syaoran-kun, would you hand me that glass?" Fai asked, referring to one that was next to the boy. The brunette did as asked, putting the glass into Fai's delicate looking hands. Fai smiled at him, and praised him for this easy task.

"Thank you, Syaoran-tsu!"

Syaoran cocked his head, and paused. He'd said it like it was a suffix to his name, like 'chan' or 'kun,' would be. And while this was normal for Fai to do to Kurogane, with a wide variety of suffix's, it was new to Syaoran.

'Yeah! Thanks Syaoran-tsu!" Mokona piped in now. Kurogane didn't look confused, but he didn't say anything either. Syaoran decided to brush it off.

"You're welcome."

At this, Fai smiled, looking pleased that Syaoran hadn't questioned him. Then he went back to washing dishes.

So, for the next couple days, he was referred to by Syaoran-tsu, by everyone but Kurogane, who simply stuck with the usual, kid, brat, and boy.

"Syaoran-tsu, come here!"

"Syaoran-tsu, look at this!"

And eventually, he forgot that he'd ever felt confused by this.

That was when it changed again.

He was sitting with Kurogane, in a different world now, and the two of them were just silently enjoying the view of the night sky they were looking at, standing on a hill. The silence was interrupted when Fai came out of nowhere, and leaped on Kurogane's back.

"Surprise!" he shouted, and Syaoran leaped back, indeed surprised. Usually he was pretty good at sensing when people were around, but Fai sometimes went out of his way to make sure they couldn't sense him, just for the fun of scaring them.

Whether he'd sensed him or not, Kurogane didn't look surprised, just a little annoyed at suddenly having an extra one hundred pounds climbing around on his back.

"Did I scare you?" Fai asked them, and Kurogane scoffed.

"If you'd scared me, I would have killed you." It wasn't so much a threat, as it simply was the truth. If Kurogane, a well trained ninja, was scared, it meant he wasn't expecting something, and if he wasn't expecting it, he'd be ready to attack. The fact that he hadn't attacked meant that he'd either known Fai was there, or that he'd known it was Fai the second Fai popped in.

Fai pouted, and let go of Kurogane, smiling at Syaoran.

"Well, I know I scared Syaotsu-kun."

Syaotsu? It was a combination of his name, and his father's name. That wasn't much farther off than Syaoran-tsu, so he didn't say anything, though he was confused. Why was Fai going out of his way to alter his name? For fun?

Probably just for fun.

So, Syaotsu he was, for the following two weeks. Even Watanuki called him this, while the two of them were chatting over the Mokona. When he did, the brunette questioned him.

"Fai told you to call me that, right? Do you know why?"

Watanuki smiled, in that way that meant he knew, but wasn't telling. He pushed his glasses up, and looked over his shoulder, briefly speaking to Doumeki, who was wandering around in the background during the whole call.

"Who knows? Maybe he'd just finally learned all the ways to change Kurogane-san's name, and needs a new target?"

Then, came the next name.

He was fast asleep, but then, suddenly, Fai was shaking him. "Mokona's earring is glowing. Time to go, Tsu-kun." He said it softly, but somehow, Syaoran still felt frightened all of a sudden. Once they'd settled down in the next world, which luckily, was Watanuki's shop, Syaoran found Kurogane, and confronted him.

"He's trying to segue into my real name, isn't he?" he asked. With each nickname, they got closer and closer to Tsubasa, a name that nobody had called him for a very long time. Kurogane, who was drinking a glass of sake, set it down next to him.

"Yeah."

Syaoran sat down next to the ninja, and was quiet for a minute. In the background, he could hear Doumeki, Fai, Watanuki, and the Mokona in the kitchen, cooking something up for them all to eat.

When their laughter died for a second, he asked, "Why?"

Kurogane took another sip of his sake, calmly looking out at the yard.

"He says he doesn't want you to feel like you're the other kid. He wants you to remember that you're your own person, who has your own name. Or something like that."

Syaoran thought hard about this. Had he felt like his was Syaoran? Well, of course he did. It was impossible not too. It was probably the same for the other Syaoran too, when he'd been around. Never could they be one without feeling like they were also the other.

But it didn't bother him, really. He didn't mind being called Syaoran. It was the only name he really remembered, after all.

He didn't know what to do. If he let Fai continue, eventually, the blonde would start calling him by his real name. By Tsubasa. Was he ready for that? Was he ready to go by a name that was his, and only his?

Tsubasa was his real name.

His true name.

Maybe a small part of him was scared by the thought.

But a larger part of him felt warmed inside, touched by what Fai was doing. Fai, more than anyone, must have known that it was tough, to go by a name that wasn't yours, and be reminded of someone else, someone special, each time your name, _their_ name, was called.

So maybe he shouldn't stop him. Maybe he should let him continue this.

He was ready.

Which was why, a couple days later, as they were sitting down to eat, when Fai looked over at him, smiled, and said, "Come on, Tsubasa-kun. Time to eat," Syaoran only smiled and took the seat offered to him, taking the plate Fai passed him.

"Thank you, Fai-san." he said softly. To the others, it might just look like he meant for the food, but he knew Fai would understand.

Fai's eyes smiled along with his mouth, and he put a hand on Syaoran's head.

"You're welcome, Tsubasa-kun."

* * *

 _Aww, this went from what I had planned into an adorable Fai and Syaoran story! I hadn't expected that at all! But I like it this way. There aren't enough fanfictions out there that focus on these two. The fanfictions are either Syaoran and Sakura, or Kurogane and Fai._

 _We need some in between._

 _I hope you all liked it!_


	2. Yui

_Now it's Fai's turn! Because I had wanted Tsubasa to call him by his name back in return in the last chapter, but then I didn't go through with it. But then my sister said she'd thought I was going to do it too, so I decided I'd make it so. Thank you in advance for reading!_

 **True Name**

For a couple weeks, Tsubasa, (nobody had called him Syaoran in months) wasn't sure he should go through with it. After all, his and Fai's circumstances were very different. His false name, Syaoran, had been passed to him by his father.

Fai's real name, Yuui, had been cast aside by the blonde himself, to honor his dead twin. If Tsubasa called him Yuui, how would he react? He only wanted to do it for the same reason Fai had done it for him. To remind him that he wasn't just Fai, a long dead brother. That he was also Yuui, and there was nothing wrong with being Yuui.

But Fai might not see it that way. It wasn't that Tsubasa thought Fai would misread his intentions, and think the young boy was trying to hurt him by calling him by his real name. It was just that Fai probably wasn't ready to be called Yuui, the name he'd long associated with a terrible, and tragic past. The name he associated with the killer of his twin brother.

Fai hadn't been Yuui for a very, _very_ long time.

Not only that, but it almost seemed like that would be weird, to call him Yuui. He was Fai to everyone. Ashura had called him Fai. The clones had called him Fai. Mokona called him Fai. Everybody called him Fai.

Except for Kurogane, who called him mage.

He had all these things to consider, so Tsubasa thought hard about it. There wasn't any harm in saying it once, was there? They didn't have to call him Fai every time, but wouldn't it be nice if Fai knew that they accepted him as Yuui, too? That they accepted him as the small boy who had been trapped in that tower, and thought he brought bad luck?

So, one day, when they were out, walking through town, Tsubasa decided to give it a try. He'd judge Fai's reaction, and make decisions accordingly. But the timing didn't seem right. He couldn't just blurt it out awkwardly...He had to make sure the situation was right for this occasion. If Tsubasa just said it while they were out walking around, sure that would help Fai realize he shouldn't take it overly seriously, but it also felt like then _he_ wasn't taking it seriously enough.

So his chance passed.

Until a few nights later, when Tsubasa was sitting on his bed, looking out the window. He was supposed to be sleeping, but he couldn't do it, his thoughts filled with many things. His parents...Sakura...the feathers...

That's when the door creaked open. Tsubasa looked around. It was Kurogane, with Mokona on his shoulder.

"Tsubasa, can't you sleep?" Mokona asked worriedly, and the young boy smiled sadly, and shrugged his shoulders. Mokona took that as an invitation to invade the room, hopping off Kurogane, and over to Tsubasa.

"Don't worry. Mokona will stay up with Tsubasa."

"Thank, Mokona." he said gratefully. "But you don't have to do that."

"But Mokona will!"

Tsubasa patted Mokona's head affectionately, and smiled. "Thank you, Mokona."

Kurogane folded his arms across his chest. "You want to talk about it?" That was how Tsubasa knew that the ninja cared about him very much. Kurogane wasn't really a, "let's talk about your problems," kind of guy. Sure he was a, "get your problems out in the open," kind of guy, but not, "let's talk about them."

"Thank you, but no. I'll just sit up for a few minutes, and then try to sleep again."

"You sure?"

Tsubasa nodded, so Kurogane left, leaving for the room he shared he Fai. Mokona snuggled into the spot next to Tsubasa, and said, "If we're going to stay up, Mokona and Tsubasa should tell each other ghost stories!"

"Do you have any ghost stories to tell, Mokona?"

The white bun thought about it, before nodding enthusiastically. "One time, Mokona and Mokona were outside-" Tsubasa listened as Mokona told the tale, and for a while, it did a good job of distracting him from his thoughts. But by the end, Mokona was exhausted, and asleep within minutes, leaving him alone again.

He tried his best to fall asleep too, but the one time he managed, he woke up from a nightmare that left him panting. He got up and went to get a glass of water. He splashed some on his face, and shook his head, like he could shake away the nightmare with the water.

"Tsubasa-kun?" said a soft, somewhat sleepy voice. He turned around, and spotted Fai, who was blinking sluggishly. Tsubasa had never actual seen a sleepy Fai before. It was kind of interesting. He wasn't smiling, or trying to make anyone laugh, or lost in his depressing thoughts. He was just human, like the rest of them, looking no different then anyone else who had woken up in the middle of the night.

"Fai-san, did I wake you?"

The blonde shook his head, his hair framing his face. "No, I came down for some water for Kuro-sama."

"Kurogane?" Tsubasa was a little confused. "Did he ask you to come get it for him?" That didn't seem like the ninja very much. Kurogane did his own work, he didn't send others to do it.

"No, but he likes to drink some when he wakes up, and I forgot to get him some before I fell asleep." Fai grabbed a cup and filled it to the brim with water, making Tsubasa smile again.

"You're so nice, Fai-san."

Fai looked at him for a second, his face red, before asking, "What are you doing down here? Are you alright?"

This brought Tsubasa back to his own thoughts, and his smile dripped away. "I uh, was just coming down for water." It wasn't a lie, but Fai saw through him anyway.

"Did you have bad dreams?" he asked gently, putting down the glass of water so he could speak with Tsubasa face to face.

"Only...only one."

"I'm sorry, Tsubasa-kun. If you want, you can come sleep with Kuro-rin and I." It was a legitimate offer, not just a joke, so Tsubasa blushed harshly at the image.

"T-that's alright, Fai-san. I'll be okay."

But now that he'd made the suggestion, Fai wouldn't be swayed, and he grabbed Tsubasa by the bicep, and gently started pulling him towards his room. Tsubasa insisted he was fine by himself the whole way there, but Fai didn't listen, and the boy didn't have the heart to pull away.

They got to the bed that Kurogane and Fai were sharing, and Fai climbed in first, pulling Tsubasa in with him, smiling brightly for someone who had seemed so sleepy only a few seconds ago.

"Stay here while I get Moko-chan." Fai instructed, crawling off the foot of the bed and running towards the other room. Tsubasa obediently stayed where he was, still blushing. He looked over at Kurogane, who was apparently still sleeping, despite the noise they were making. Tsubasa found himself wondering if now was the chance he'd been waiting for, to call Fai by his real name. Was the moment right? Would Fai understand what he was trying to say?

The wizard came back a couple seconds later, with a sleeping Mokona in one hand, and the glass of water for Kurogane in the other. He put the water by Kurogane's bedside, then climbed back into the middle of the bed, snuggling under the blankets, and putting Mokona gently on his pillow.

"There." he said softly, smiling so genuinely that Tsubasa couldn't help but smile back. "Now, if anyone has nightmares, they'll wake up and find us here with them."

Tsubasa opened his mouth to say something, but paused. Now was his chance. He had to take it.

"Thank you." he said gratefully. "You're very kind...Yui-san."

Fai, who had been shifting around in his spot, froze, and looked up at the still sitting up Tsubasa with wide eyes. It was quiet for a couple seconds, the air around them unnaturally still, as Tsubasa waited to see how Fai would respond. He could see the memories and thoughts racing in his friend's head, and he hoped he wouldn't be upset.

The blonde finally let out a breathe of air, and smiled, patting the spot next to him to indicate that Tsubasa should lay down. The boy did so, and Fai put a hand on his head softly.

"Thank you, Tsubasa-kun."

Tsubasa's heart swelled, and he nodded back, suddenly too embarrassed to talk. Fai rolled over on his other side, and Tsubasa felt him tug on Kurogane's sleeve.

"Did you hear that, Kuro-sama? Tsubasa called me Yui." he whispered. Tsubasa expected a grumpy Kurogane to answer, but when the ninja spoke, he didn't sound the least bit tired, indicating he'd been awake for some time.

"Yeah, I heard him." The taller man made the same move Fai had moments before, putting his hand on Fai's head, and ruffling the hair gently. "Now both of you get to sleep." he added with fake gruffness.

Fai smiled and pulled Mokona into his chest. The white creature hugged him back as much as he could, apparently also awake.

"Night night, everyone. Mokona loves you."

"We love you too, Mokona. I love all of you."

Tsubasa shut his eyes, proud of himself.

He didn't have anymore nightmares the rest of the night.


End file.
